Tethered
by cas-the-unicorn
Summary: I love Stydia, but while rewatching the series, I've seen the Stalia moments that get some people fawning over the relationship. I get it, they're cute. So, here are my thoughts, or should I say Stiles' thoughts, on why he has stayed with Malia, even though we know which pair will come out on top. (If you ship Stydia, don't dismiss this as just a Stalia story. You'll be surprised.)


**I love Stydia. I really do. But, I've been rewatching the entire series to prepare for the 5b premiere, and I've realized that Stalia has some pretty cute moments, too. I don't ship them, but I feel like I should write my thoughts about them. Or, more accurately, what I think are Stiles' thoughts about them.**

* * *

Stiles is good at reading people. Not to toot his own horn or anything, but he's actually pretty great at it. Matt, the Nogistune, Theo - he can tell when something is off. When something is not right.

Stiles sees how his friends look at him and Malia. He sees how Scott and Kira look at him like they feel bad for him. Almost like they are disappointed. He sees how Lydia looks at him, or tries not to. He can tell that she doesn't like them together, for some reason.

He knows who his friends want him to be with.

But Stiles has a reason for staying with Malia.

The Nogistune was a monster. It killed, and hurt, and caused chaos and grief all over the town. Police officers, nurses, doctors...

Friends.

They are all dead because of it.

Because of _him_.

Scott keeps trying to tell Stiles that it's not his fault. "It was the Nogistune, Stiles, not you. You had no control."

He knows that. He knows that there was nothing he could have done, in those moments, to save those people.

But he also knows that he let him in.

Stiles kept that door in his mind, the door opened by the power of the Nemeton, open long enough to let the Nogistune control him. It didn't go to Allison, who was also human. It chose him.

Because he was weak enough to let it control him.

But that's not all.

In Eichen House, he let it in. He gave it full control over his body, just so it wouldn't hurt Malia.

He gave it the ability to kill, maim, and harm every person in Beacon Hills, just to save a fucking _girl._ One who he had only just met, officially at least, a couple days before. He may have gone into the woods with his pack and saved her from being killed by her father, who may have thought of her as a reminder of what killed his entire family, but he didn't really _meet_ her then. He didn't talk to her, not until Eichen.

Then he decides to make out with her. A girl who he had only been down there with because of a deal. Their whole relationship had started out as a deal. She would get him down in the basement, but only if he helped her learn how to turn back into a coyote.

He had let the Nogistune in... for a business partner.

Of course. What else would a lonely, damaged, hormonal teenage boy do?

Maybe he should have let her first kiss be with someone who could truly love her, and not with someone who was possessed by a Japanese fox.

But he couldn't help himself. Finally, he had found a girl who wanted to kiss him, and wouldn't get sacrificed right after. She wanted her first kiss to be with him.

Maybe it was because she could sense what was inside of him. Stiles hadn't told her yet, when she kissed him, but maybe she could sense that there was something evil inside of him. Something that could kill innocent people, and Stiles had no control over it. It was just hiding there, waiting for the next victim.

Malia had that, too. She had a monster inside of her, one that she couldn't yet control. One that had killed innocent people.

Maybe she thought that it was best for her to be with someone who had that in common with her. Stiles sure did.

He knew about her past and what she had done. He didn't stop himself because, well, shouldn't he be with someone who had been through what he had?

But that was a mistake. She was used against him, used to get Stiles to let the Nogistune have full control over him.

He let it in. He let it take full control, just for a girl who he had just met.

And that choice killed those people. Not the Nogistune. It was that choice.

He chose Malia over everything. He knew what the Nogistune was capable of, and what it would do once it had full control. But he ignored that knowledge for Malia.

Stiles won't say that saving her was a mistake. He can't. But he basically traded Malia for those nurses. For his father's coworkers. For Aiden.

For Allison.

Stiles may not have known it at the time, but in saving Malia's life, he ended their's.

He couldn't change what he did. He couldn't go back in time and let Oliver kill her.

But, he could protect his investment. If Stiles really did cause all those people's deaths, just to save Malia, then he could, he _should_ , help her. He should make her into a functional, moral human being. All that loss, all pain, he couldn't let it be for nothing.

So, Stiles helped her. He made her his project. She was a hopeless fixer-upper, but he would fix her up. He had killed those people, but he could save her.

But, their relationship wasn't commensalistic. Malia also helped him. Not only did she give him a distraction during the day, but she comforted him during the night.

After the Nogistune, his nights were terrifying. He would dream of chaos and murder, and when he woke up, he couldn't tell if he was awake.

At first, his father would come in and comfort him. He'd help him count his fingers, and hold him in his arms.

But one night, that changed.

It was two in the morning, and Stiles had been lying awake on his bed. His father had just left the room after waking him up from yet another nightmare. He couldn't convince himself to close his eyes, no matter how much his common sense told him that he should. Anything longer than a blink sent him shaking.

Then he heard a knock on his window. Running a hand over his face, he had opened the window and seen none other than Malia staring at him.

"Malia?"

She pushed past him and stood at the side of his bed, arms crossed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

She sighed. "I could hear your heartbeat from my house. It was racing. It still is racing."

She had then proceeded to walk around his room, sniffing. "And why does your room smell like this?"

"Hey, not everyone is as clean as -"

"No, not that. But that does smell gross. It's the stress. The fear."

She turned back to him. "What's wrong?"

After a few moments of hesitation, Stiles sighed. "Malia, just go home."

"Why do you have circles like that under your eyes?"

"Malia, please go home."

"Have you not slept at all tonight?"

"Malia, go!"

She stared at him, surprised. He sat down on the bed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Please just leave."

But she didn't . She crossed her arms and said bluntly, "You're having nightmares, aren't you?"

Count on Malia to not beat around the bush.

Stiles sighed again. "Just go home, Malia. I've got it covered."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm _fine_."

"No, you're not," she had stated, taking a seat next to him. "You look like corpse, and you don't even have an evil fox in you anymore."

She took off her shoes and laid down under the comforter. "Come on, Stiles. You're gonna get a good night's rest. The first one in a while, from the looks of it."

He stayed in place and looked down. "I can't."

Malia, not taking any of his bullshit, wrapped her around around his torso and pulled him into the empty space on the left side of the bed.

"What the _fuck_ , Ma-"

"Go to sleep, Stiles. The Nogistune is gone. People have to sleep. You are a person. So sleep."

Stiles tried to sit up, but then she pushed him onto his side and hugged him around the middle from behind.

Despite his protests at being the little spoon, Stiles felt his eyes start to close.

That was his first good night's sleep in a long time.

After that, Malia would come every time she heard his heart race at night. After a few times of seeing them, Stiles' father realized that he didn't need to comfort his son after a nightmare anymore.

Eventually, she just came every night. Of course, not every night was that serene. After eight years as a coyote, Malia was into some weird shit. But she helped him. By the time Mexico came around, Stiles' nightmares were once a week, instead of once an hour.

Stiles doesn't just feel responsible for her now. He feels like she is actually a good friend. He feels a connection to her.

But, he has a stronger connection with someone else.

The requirements of their deal had been met. Malia helped him, not only to get into the basement, but with so much more, and Stiles finally got her that control over her abilities that she had so desperately wanted.

Stiles had needed Malia. He had needed her help, and he had needed to help her. He can remember feeling so in love with her in the vault, and when he found out her methods of highlighting.

But there is someone else who is more than that to him. Where he and Malia have moments, they have a history.

Stiles and Malia have a lot in common. They have similar demons and similar habits.

Stiles doesn't need that. He needs someone who can overcome their demons. Someone who can help him overcome them, once an for all. Someone who won't need to come through his window every night, but can help him in a better way. And only Lydia can really do that.

With Lydia, their relationship isn't based on need. It's based on mutual respect and affection. Stiles may have needed someone like Malia then, someone just like him, but he doesn't anymore.

Just like in geometry, he doesn't need congruency. That doesn't add up to anything special. He needs his complement to make him right.

He knows who his friends want him to be with.

He knows who he wants to be with.

He and Malia may be connected, but he and Lydia are _tethered_.

* * *

 **Ha, you guys thought this was going to be Stalia, didn't you? I may think Stalia has cute moments, but it is an all around unhealthy relationship, created for the wrong purposes and reasons. A relationship based on need, especially a relationship where one of them "shows love through violence" is not healthy and is not one that a fandom should support, no matter how many cute moments they have.**

 **Please review! Every (nice) review I get from you guys makes me blush, even if it's just a couple words.**


End file.
